Bob Lutz Backs Romney, Forgives Bailout Stance

Despite his earlier opposition to Mitt Romney’s candidacy for the White House, former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Wednesday he backed the former Massachusetts governor.

“You know, all is forgiven. It depends who his opponent is,” he said on CNBC’s “The Kudlow Report.”

Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, authored a New York Times editorial in October 2008 titled, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” But in recent months, Romney reversed course, attempting to take credit for the bailout.

“I think he has since modified his stand on that completely,” Lutz said. “He now says he was totally in favor of it and suggested it. That’s neither here nor there.”

Lutz also cited a poll by Dick Morris that shows electoral votes will create a landslide victory for Romney over incumbent President Obama. (A non-scientific poll on DickMorris.com shows web visitors preferred Romney over Obama 98 percent to 2 percent.)

“I have to believe that investors believe their fortunes lie synonymous with the fortunes of the American economy,” he said. “If the American economy does well . . . everybody’s going to benefit, so I’m definitely with Wall Street on this one.”

“First of all, there was no place to go but up starting in 2008,” he said. “Secondly, look at the amount of money that was poured in. So, yes, it came back up, but from a very low level and for the reasons that were just cited. I have to believe that all of the businessmen I talked to are worried about this administration, worried about where the country is going. They are solidly behind the Republican Party.”

Jim Lacamp of UBS explained the influx of money to the Romney campaign: “Wall Street likes to back a winning horse.”

“A lot of people asked me in 2008 why Wall Street was giving Obama so much money when he had such a liberal voting record,” he added. “The answer is because he was going to win.”

“People are fed up with this whole union system, the whole pension system, the whole giveaway system,” he said. “Wall Street is saying, ‘I want a winning horse. I don’t like the horse I bet on last time. Also, I’m seeing a sea change out there. That gives them the confidence that this is a winning horse.”